A dog is a dog is a dog!
A human on the other hand is a complicated creature. With emotions, feeling, thoughts, and whole bunch of other “crap” floating around that can influence behavior.
I just picked up this great book about walking on a leash and dogs that pull. Wow – when you get right down to it – it’s really very simple philosophy! We as human’s “think” that our dogs “think” when in reality they just respond. They respond to the actions of others. Simple as simple can be.
If you hit your dog everytime it pulls, it’s going to want to get away from you. And how does the dog get away from you – by pulling on the leash to get away. (By the way – I DO NOT hit my dog!!!)
You really have to feed honey to the beast to make it do what you want. Which is really just a learned response for the dog.
I’ve spent quite a few hours walking Shannon while she has been at the other end of the leash pulling. And the more frustrated I get – the more she pulls. However, when I just relax, and “DO” what I need to do to distract the dog from pulling – she is beautiful. Walking beside me, or just trotting along enjoying the smells. She might be a little ahead, she may be behind – but she it NOT pulling. Wow – who would have thought!
So it’s really ME that’s learning all this. Shannon is just responding. And while yes, I agree, she is learng too – I think that the more I learn the smarter she will become!!
Tags: dog training, dog tricks, foster dogs, walking on a leash
